After a brief escape, Bacon the piglet is back at RAGBRAI 'swine cuddles' tent

WEST BEND, Ia. — Bacon was the piglet that (almost) got away.

One of two piglets in the Northwest Iowa Badgers baseball club’s “swine cuddles” tent was apprehended after an escape attempt in West Bend, Monday’s meeting town for the Register’s annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.

The pig and his brother, Eggs, were kept in a farm tire at the tent until patrons tossed a donation into a box in exchange for a photo with the pigs.

But that morning, Bacon made his escape.

“He jumped right out of the tire,” said Phil Trimble of Fort Dodge.

Bacon led Jodi Trewin of Pocahontas on a four-block foot chase before he lost her as cyclists trickled into town.

“Only in Iowa do you see someone chasing after a pig,” said Karen Bowder of Pocahontas.

It wasn’t until a few hours later, Trimble said, that a local farmer spotted the runaway.

“A cop came over (to the tent) and asked if anyone was missing a pig,” Trewin said.

Bacon waited at a gas station before he would be taken back for kisses and cuddles from cyclists at the tent.

Non-Iowans loved the swine cuddles tent, organizers said.

“It’s the excitement of never touching a pig before,” Trewin said. “It’s an Iowa thing to do.”

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